An evening of cranking and skanking: outdoor ska festival debuts

Thursday

Aug 23, 2018 at 5:01 AMAug 29, 2018 at 9:57 AM

Whether you have in-depth knowledge of 2 Tone and third-wave ska, wear plenty of checkerboard patterns or not, it is likely you are at least tangentially familiar with the genre. If skanking is your business, then the Saturday, Aug. 25 Cranking & Skanking Fest headed to the Worcester Palladium should be circled on your calendar.

While the genre's most recent peak came in the '90s, ska has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence in recent years – a resurgence, said The Mighty Mighty Bosstones vocalist Dicky Barrett, that is no coincidence.

“It sounds good and it says something, maybe it's a coincidence,” said Barrett. “Think about what was going on in Kingston in Jamaica in the late '60s, culturally and politically. Think about what went on during the punk movement in Margaret Thatcher's England. It seems like when we need to feel good, like a superhero, ska shows up. It's not just happy horseshit. It's thoughtful, well thought out with an opinion.”

It probably goes without saying the world could use a superhero these days.

Enter the Cranking & Skanking Fest, the brainchild of Barrett and the Bosstones. The outdoor festival brings in legendary acts like Toots & the Maytals, Fishbone, Big D & The Kids Table, The Pietasters and The Bouncing Souls.

“The idea came from something we thought was a long time coming,” said Barrett. “If ska is experiencing a renaissance right now, that doesn't include my heart. As far as I'm concerned, ska is everyday, all the time, around the clock, 365 days a year. It's vibrant, vital and a passion to me. The popularity of' Let's Face It' [2007 release] and the Bosstones in '96 or '97 didn't matter. I love ska music, whether it's the music du jour or not. It's always important to me. It sounds good and it has something to say, those qualities intact, I'm in.”

For years, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones have headlined their Hometown Throwdown event in Boston. Hometown Throwdown has been a winter event since 1995. Barrett and the band were looking for a way to get back to Massachusetts in warmer conditions.

“How do we create something that gives us a reason to roll through Massachusetts once a year?” said Barrett. “Hopefully, with the success of Cranking & Skanking we'll do just that. It's all about getting likeminded bands and bands that we love together for an annual festival.”

The concept was cemented when the Bosstones performed at a festival in California.

“Earlier this summer, at the top of the summer, there was a festival we were invited to out here called Back to the Beach at Huntington Beach that was all ska bands,” Barrett said. “It was a huge undertaking and also very successful. It was a great time, so we said, ‘It's now or never, lets do this.' It's proven to be the summer of ska. There are a handful of great ska bands that have released albums this summer. Our shows have been doing really well. It feels like there's a sort of ska reboot going on.”

After almost 10 years, the Bosstones return with a brand new album during this proclaimed “summer of ska.” The album, “While We're at It,” came at a time when Barrett and company felt inspired.

“It had to be on our time and on our terms,” said Barrett. “That's the way we make Bosstones records, when it is inspired. I think we've earned that right. There's no reason to force anything artistically, that's not how art works. We wait until we want to and feel inspired. It is something we're extremely proud of. That's the way it works. OK, time to make a new one, now back on the road. We had decided, when we got back together as a band, we'll do things when we feel inspired and for the love of it and not for the money.”

On Saturday, Aug. 25, fans and ska aficionados have a chance to catch Barrett and the Bosstones in a new space, outdoors at the Worcester Palladium.

“I enjoy filling a room full of people and joining the band and and, ‘Oh, look at this, there's a man dancing, there's a tremendous horn section.' I'm better at singing — that might be unfair to people who really sing — but I'm best at delivering Bosstones songs,” said Barrett. “When it's firing on all cylinders, that feels really good, I love it. The faces are elated, or delighted. You can say these people look entertained. That's a great feeling. I've never had the desire to tell everyone to go fuck off, the way some other people operate. I want to know everyone had a great time.